2022-08-13 10:04:44 | pauls writes:

Car to be at auction 8/22

silverstoneauctions.com/sa080-lot-18550-1960-austin-healey-3000-mki-bt7

Auction description:

The Classic Sale at Silverstone 2022

Lot Number: 445

1960 Austin-Healey 3000 MkI (BT7)

An older restoration from 12-year ownership in factory colours with a believed genuine 64,473 miles covered by just four owners from new, supported by a detailed history file.

GUIDE PRICE: £42,000 - £48,000

This lovely 3000 Mk I BT7 was despatched as a home-market car on the 2nd July 1960 to Central Garage Ltd. in Bradford finished in Colorado Red over Black, with a black interior topped by a black hard top, prior to being first registered on the 8th July 1960. The accompanying Heritage Certificate, issued on the 29th August 1989, and current V5C confirms the above whist correspondence on file details the car’s history starting with the its second owner who purchased the 3000 on the 18th November 1967. The Healey was subsequently passed on to his son, a Mr. C. of Bolton, in 1985 and he confirmed the car’s ownership history and mileage of 61,557 in a signed declaration dated 7th March 2001.

The third recorded keeper, a Mr. W. of Aylesbury, bought the car on 25th April 2001 and the accompanying album of photographs shows it to be in need of a bit of restoration. Our vendor, who purchased it on 3 February 2011, informs us that the car’s body was restored by noted Healey specialist JME of Leamington Spa and the cylinder head was reconditioned and converted to unleaded with a Denis Welch manifold and an exhaust system fitted around the same time. A new clutch and re-furbished Overdrive enhance the driving experience whilst the electronic ignition offers reassurance at the turn of the key. The painted wire wheels have recently been shod with a set of Michelin XAS tyres.

Our vendor commissioned the re-trimming of the interior in black leather, with seats piped in red, installed a Moto-Lita steering wheel and fitted a new full size tonneau cover. The black hard top has never been fitted as the car has only been used sparingly on dry days, covering some 2,000 miles in eleven years, for a total of 64,473 miles now recorded at the time of cataloguing. Whilst acknowledging that the car’s paintwork is perhaps more suited to anxiety-free touring rather than the scrutiny of a Concours lawn, our vendor’s confidence in the underbody and mechanicals will be confirmed by a fresh MOT prior to the sale.

It will be presented to auction with a large and detailed history file containing historic MOT Certificates, the aforementioned correspondence, photograph album, reams of maintenance receipts, the Heritage Certificate and the V5C showing our vendor as the fourth registered keeper.

Lot Number 445

Make AUSTIN-HEALEY

Model 3000

Registration Number JSL 291

MOT Expiry 01/08/2023

Chassis Number HBT710495

Engine Number 29D-U-H/18103

Body Colour Red/Black

2023-03-22 09:14:39 | pauls writes:

Car returns to auction 3/23

www.carandclassic.com/auctions/1960-austin-healey-3000-mk1-gNKMjn

Auction description:

1960 Austin Healey

Colour Black

Odometer 64,852 Miles

Engine size 2912

Auction DetailsSeller Type Private

Town Pembroke Dock

Location Wales

Country United Kingdom

Low mileage Mk1 with documented proof of mileage

Early BT7, believed 494th built

Original factory correct Colorado Red over Black paintwork

Full restoration by Healey specialists JME in 2002

MOT to July 2023 with no advisories

Desirable factory works hard top in excellent condition

Heritage Certificate verifying chassis number and build date

Extensive history file recording significant expenditure, mostly from last 25 years

First registered 8th July 1960

Current owner since 2011

Original RHD home market car

Sold with laminated screen and hard top

Collection of old tax discs

Letter from previous owner verifying mileage back to 1967

The Interior

New black leather seats with red piping

New carpets and door cards

New leather dashboard

New wooden Moto Lita steering wheel 

All switches and controls work correctly, although note that there is no heather

Small rear seats

Removable side screens

This car is one of the BT7 2+2 cars so benefits from a pair of rear seats. They have the advantage of making the small Healey cabin feel much more spacious and useable. 

The Heritage Certificate indicates that this car left the factory with a red interior. The trim on this car has been replaced since 2011 by the Seller, including black leather seats with red piping, black carpets and new door cards. The seat frames appear to be original. All are in excellent condition with no visible marks. There is also a lovely Moto Lita wooden steering wheel in matching condition.

The leather dashboard has a very small area of damage beside the gauges but it is otherwise in excellent condition. The gauges appear original and carry a light patina of age, but are otherwise in very good condition.

The chrome handbrake handle, which has been replaced during the Seller’s tenure, shows some light deterioration. 

The extensive history file records many invoices for parts for the interior during the Seller’s ownership, the total exceeding £2,000.

The Exterior

Factory correct Colorado Red over Black two-tone bodywork

Restored in 2002 by Healey specialist JME at a cost of nearly £5,000

Rare factory works hard top in very good condition, comes with cover and rack

New tonneau

New Michelin XAS 15inch wheels

By the time this car rolled off the Abingdon line in 1960 the Big Healey shape was already eight years old, yet its simple style spoke of fast cross-country driving to some far-off weekend getaway. In short, it looks just like a 1960s sports car, purposeful and sleek.

Many Healeys left the factory with pretty two-tone paintwork. This car was restored in 2002 but retains its factory correct combination of Colorado Red over Black, a distinctive mix that suits the car’s lines. 

The restoration work was carried out by JME, one of the world’s leading Healey specialists based in Warwickshire, at a cost in 2002 of around £5,000. The quality of the work is evident in the photographs and has held up very well, helped no doubt by the very limited use the car has enjoyed in the intervening years. 

As an older restoration there are a few marks around the car, but they are all very minor. There are a variety of chips on the offside front wheelarch, some of which have been touched in, and chips on the trailing edge of the offside rear arch. Moving round to the nearside of the car there are a small number of chips on the nearside front arch. 

On the front of the car there is a small chip below the grille surround – and the surround itself shows signs of paint overspray – and chips above the front number plate. On the rear of the car there is a chip on the rear panel beside the offside reflector. Also on the rear of the car, the rubber fuel filler surround has cracked.

One of the photographs suggests that the driver’s door may need rehanging as the shut lines are not quite level. This may be a quirk of the photograph’s angle so could be something to check with the Seller.

The engine bay is very good, with no obvious deterioration. There is slight paint overspray on the chassis plate.

The chrome around the car appears to be original and carries the light patina that you might expect of 60 year old materials. But it is all very presentable and adds to the character of this beautiful car.

This car was factory supplied with a black works hard top that it fortunately retains. It appears to be in very good condition and adds extra versatility to this stylish classic car. A new tonneau has also recently been fitted by the Seller.

The car sits on painted wire wheels that are in very good condition and appear to have been fitted since the restoration in 2002. The Michelin XAS 15 inch tyres are all new according to the Seller. 

The photographs of the underside of the car reveal that it is in very good condition, including the sills. There appears to be a patch of welding underneath on one of the floors but this is not particularly surprising on a car of this age.

The Mechanics

Matching numbers 2912cc BMC C-Series engine

4spd manual gearbox with overdrive

Stainless steel exhaust fitted in 2005 with minimal mileage since

Clutch, gearbox and overdrive unit fitted since 2011

Letter from previous owner verifying mileage

114bhp rolling road read out 

Denis Welch twin carburettor exhaust manifold and silencer fitted by previous owner

Electronic ignition

Unleaded head

Brakes overhauled in 2015

The BMC C-Series engine at the heart of this Austin Healey may not have the biggest power output, but that wasn’t really what the 3000 was all about. With effortless torque and decent long-legged gearing, this was a car for powering along to your destination, ideally one quite a long way away so that you could relish the joy of driving.

This pretty car is largely standard but has the benefit of some well-chosen upgrades. It left the factory without the option of overdrive on the 4spd manual gearbox but the Seller has retrofitted this using a refurbished unit. The clutch and gearbox were overhauled at the same time. This change makes this car significantly more relaxing to drive on longer journeys at higher speeds.

It also has a Denis Welch twin carburettor exhaust manifold and silencer set up and a stainless steel exhaust. The history file indicates that the car has been rolling road tested to 114bhp.

Other useful improvements include fitting an unleaded head and electronic ignition that improves the car’s reliability.

The history file for this car is extensive, with records of every invoice dating back many years. We were not able to verify when the car was last serviced so this may be something to check with the Seller. 

It is encouraging to see that the Seller continues to MOT the car, even though this is no longer a legal requirement. The car has MOT to July 2023 with no advisories.